Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2019 July 12

                          Magellanic Galaxy NGC 55
      Image Credit & Copyright: Acquisition - Eric Benson, Processing -
                                Dietmar Hager

   Explanation: Irregular galaxy NGC 55 is thought to be similar to the
   Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). But while the LMC is about 180,000
   light-years away and a well-known satellite of our own Milky Way
   Galaxy, NGC 55 is more like 6 million light-years distant, a member of
   the Sculptor Galaxy Group. Classified as an irregular galaxy, in deep
   exposures the LMC itself resembles a barred disk galaxy. Spanning about
   50,000 light-years, NGC 55 is seen nearly edge-on though, presenting a
   flattened, narrow profile in contrast with our face-on view of the LMC.
   Just as large star forming regions create emission nebulae in the LMC,
   NGC 55 is also seen to be producing new stars. This highly detailed
   galaxy portrait highlights a bright core crossed with dust clouds,
   telltale pinkish star forming regions, and young blue star clusters in
   NGC 55.

                      Tomorrow's picture: eagle rising
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